


Love Sick Fool(s)

by CLBinns



Category: Emmerdale
Genre: Angst, F/F, Hurt/Comfort
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-06-17
Updated: 2018-06-17
Packaged: 2019-05-24 07:32:59
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,349
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14950329
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CLBinns/pseuds/CLBinns
Summary: First Work for Vanity and Emmerdale - please be kind. Constructive Criticism welcome.Set after Vanessa went to the police. How I wanted the reconciliation to go.Second Chapter coming soon!





	Love Sick Fool(s)

There were only so many tears a person could cry. Charity had learnt this years ago, yet still seemed to forget with every new tragedy. Her and Vanessa had only been together a short while, but it felt real. She trusted her, and that trust was betrayed quickly. 

The days since had dragged. What once was twenty four hours now felt like a lifetime. The loneliness only subsiding when Moses was around, which ended up being less often than she would like. Ross needed him there too and she understood that. Yet, the silence killed her. 

Work wasn't much easier. The entire village now knew that her and Vanessa were no more. Most of the punters blamed her, based on the track record she couldn't blame them. If only they knew what Vanessa had done. If only they could see past the exterior and she how much pain she was in orders would have been spoken not barked.

Tonight was even worse, her shift had only just begun when a red eyed Vanessa sheepishly slipped into the bar. Both blondes caught the eye of the other, unable to breath. “This was a mistake, I'm sorry.” Vanessa declared to the entire pub holding in a sob that was dangerously close to spilling out. Turning to leave she glanced once more at the woman behind the bar. Her eyes practically burning a hole in Charity’s armour. 

“Oh, you might as well stay. No where else in the village to drink is there?” The question obviously caught Vanessa off guard as Tracy grabbed her arm leading her to a booth. “Don't take this as anything more than it is though, babe. You're just willing to pay and I'm a business!” 

As the night drew on Vanessa became more intoxicated, glancing at the bar, and more importantly the woman behind it. The taller woman stood unblinking, unfocused, staring at nothing in particular as long as she wasn't looking at Vanessa. But her thoughts were flooded by the sunny blonde, the woman she thought she knew but now didn't recognise at all. Someone she thought could save her from herself, someone she could love. Flipping beer mats between her fingers she day dreamed and mourned for the life she could have had. The lives she could have had. Letting a single tear fall, but still trying to hide all the hurt. 

It wasn't long before closing when the sisters left leaving charity alone with her thoughts. While Vanessa was ultimately respectful and quiet there was a few apologies slurred over the bar when she came to get the round in, she may have even lingered when taking the change from charity’s hand. Something Charity now over analysed and focused on. After locking the doors and cashing up she helped herself to a bottle of wine, the good stuff, and went to bed sipping from the bottle. 

As she entered her room, she was hit with the impact that the few weeks spent with Vanessa had on her space. Vanessa’s side of the bed still looked slept on, still smelled of her. As she crawled into bed she felt the emptiness of the other side. Pulling the covers overself and taking a deep breath she stared at the emptiness confronting her. Holding back her tears she continued to watch nothing before picking up the empty pillow, holding it against herself, and letting some tears fall. 

Eventually the tears subsided allowing Charity to reach over and turn off the light. She slowly buried her face into the pillow willing herself to fall asleep. Which eventually she did, falling into a light sleep, waking herself up at any movement or noise.  
By two am Charity had given up on getting a decent night's sleep. Sitting up abruptly she felt the bed beside her finding nothing but emptiness. Taking a deep breath she threw off the covers and got out of bed. Still dressed from her shift, she put on some shoes and a coat and headed out, hoping a walk would clear her head and allow her a couple of hours sleep. 

After a quick scan of the village Charity fixated on one house in particular, a house she knew well. After drinking half a bottle of wine very quickly she still felt pretty buzzed and reckless. She was going to talk to the one person in the village she had wanted to speak to for the last three days, the only person she couldn't bare to look at, but the only person who could take away some of her pain. 

It took all of two minutes to arrive at Tug Ghyll. Taking in a deep breath, she knocked lightly on the door. Waiting for a few seconds, heart pounding, hands shaking, lump in her throat forming, Charity quickly changed her mind. She turned making a run for it. Vanessa had probably just left a light on, this was stupid. She didn't want to see her anyway, not to be nice to her. Her being here would just start an argument and make it worse. 

She had just made it back into the street as the door creaked open. “Charity?” The voice stopped her in her tracks. She stood unable to move, scared to scare off the woman. 

“Hi Ness.” She smiled sadly, slowly stepping back towards the cottage. “This was a mistake, go back to bed. I'll see you around.” 

“Don't be daft, we need to talk. I mean if ya want t’. I won't force ya, but I can make us a brew and we can just sit a while…”

“Go on then!” Charity looked round checking no one saw her entering her exes home. She had some sort of reputation to keep up. No matter how tiresome it was. 

“Why’d ya do it Vanessa?” Charity wasted no time getting the answers she needed to both move on and forgive the woman in front of her. The woman she now watched intently as she started to lean against the kitchen counter, arms on each side of the boiling kettle, head lowered. Charity observed as Vanessa took a deep breath. 

“I thought it'd help.” The answer was quiet, shy, but sure. Charity believed her, she honestly did. Yet, there was still a small niggling feeling that there was something else, something Vanessa hadn't allowed herself to believe. 

“You thought I hadn't gone through this before? You thought I just let him get away with it?” Charity’s tone was harsh, and unwavering. 

“I thought it'd be different this time.” Vanessa looked smaller, scared. Charity stopped for a second, questioning her next move. Her next sentence could be the end for them, but it could also be the beginning.

“It’s always the same with that lot  
They always look after their own.” 

“So do I.” The air between them seemed heavy with the implications of what had been said, and what was left to say. 

Charity took a second to swallow her pride before walked up behind the shorter woman, wrapping her arms around her. “I believe you and I want to forgive you, I really do, but I also want to drag you through my bar by your hair.” She spoke slowly and calmly, her voice didn't break, but her jaw was clenched. She felt the smaller woman stiffen further. She felt the fear in Vanessa’s body as she moved her hair to one side, kissing her neck, biting down softly. Vanessa turned to face Charity as she towered over her, searching for answers the other woman couldn't give her. “Right now though, I want to take you upstairs and show you just how unforgiving i can be. If that's okay?” They both nodded slowly reassuring each other that this is what they wanted. 

Charity took the smaller woman’s hand and lead her towards the stairs. They had a very long way to go but for tonight they would rekindle, and ignore the words unsaid. And tomorrow, Charity would go back to being angry and hurt, hoping no one would find out about their late night rendezvous.


End file.
